What are our rights? What to do next?

shamac

Just got back from holiday. Apartment booked from Owners direct last minute. It was dirty, badly maintained and very noisy due to being above 2 bars, no hot water for 2 days etc etc. Had problem with blinds on windows which stuck half way and refused to open. "manager" was uncontactable and apartment was not secure. We were prepared to just get on with our holiday, cleaned apartment and came home. Just got email saying we have broken the blinds and will be billed for cost of damage. What do we do? What if we simply refuse to pay? Can we ask for some of our money back?

Much saved for and looked forward to first holiday in years, totally ruined.

spiro

Did the 'manager' inspect and check the property with you when you arrived? If the answer is no then they will have a difficulty proving it was your fault.

How did you pay? If it was by credit card then they may try and charge the card.

littlereddevil

If they do charge the card then you can complain to the card company as an unauthorised transaction

Counting_Pennies_2

You really needed to have contacted the company while you were out there. If the manager was uncontactable then you should have looked at some way of leaving a message.

If you exhausted doing all of that, then you should have contacted the company on your return.

Did you take photos of the damage and mess/dirt?

cclarke12

Is the owner in the UK? Did you have a contract which sets out what services you should have expected, e.g. an arrival clean?

I would say if they haven't taken a damage deposit there isn't a lot they can do. If the owner is in the UK they could try to make a claim in the small claims court but to be honest unless they could try to show you deliberately damaged the property I think they would have a hard time, more likely to be viewed general wear and tear (those roller shutters are a pain and often stick). Also if it is UK owner you could also take them to the small claims court (very cheap and easy to do online) if you think the apartment/services weren't what was advertised. I would tell them you will be making a claim against them.

We had a holiday a few years ago booked through a small rental company with branches in the UK and in Spain. The villa was a tatty old dump and wasn't as advertised and there were some things that were just plain dangerous. I complained several times while there but it fell on deaf ears. I made a claim for half the rental value on return from holiday and put this through the small claims. The rental company claimed it wasn't in jurisdiction because the property was in Spain, the court disagreed because they had taken payment from me via the UK office, and I won the case. Since then I have always used owners direct/holiday rentals rather than an agent and haven't had any problems.

We have a place in Spain ourselves and we would never rent it out without having a contract in place with the renter. We also have public liability insurance which an awful lot of people don't seem to have, and we pay income tax on our rentals (even rarer!). If they get difficult and they are UK based then it is always worth dropping a line to the tax office just to make sure they are aware these people are renting out their property, and indeed the local Spanish tax offices which are very keen to clamp down on expats not paying tax on rentals.............

lagoslife

[FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot]How will they bill you for the cost of damage?
Did you pay a damage deposit?

What does your booking contract say in relation to damage, reporting complaints?

Ideally you should have taken photos to support your complaints.

I would try to sort this out amicably with the owner (goodwill refund for no water?). The last resort would be the small claims court, but this could be
costly?

There is some advice here from the telegraph; Travel advice: how to make a complaint when holidays go wrong
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/columnists/sophiebutler/7921949/Travel-advice-how-to-make-a-complaint-when-holidays-go-wrong.html
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